Dive Brief:
- The yield rate for international students, or the percentage of such students who decide to accept an admissions offer, declined 2% in the past year, mirroring the decline in U.S. students — but an analysis by Inside Higher Ed found that the percentage drop varied sharply by region.
- Nearly four in 10 U.S. universities reported declines in the number of international student applications last year, and of the four states with the most international students, Massachusetts and New York’s yield rate was flat, California matched the national 2% dip, and Texas saw a 9% yield rate decline coupled with an 18% decline in admission offers for international students.
- At the graduate level, 46% of graduate deans reported yield rate declines for their schools at the master’s level — which was concerning, considering that such students accounted for 78% of first-time international graduate students the prior year — while the yield rate for doctoral programs saw a decline of 31%.
Dive Insight:
Though a study recently indicated that international student enrollment had not markedly decreased since President Donald Trump's inauguration, it has been more difficult to discern the rate of decrease in international student interest, if any. Who isn't coming to study in U.S. institutions due to the political climate who may have considered doing so otherwise? The Northeast is continuing to see international student interest, but this may be out of necessity. The region is undergoing a general decline in the number of high school graduates, with its 2028 graduating high school class expected to be 10% smaller than in 2009 and the Midwest expecting even bigger drops, according to The Washington Post.
The Northeast and Midwest also have more colleges than other regions in the country. The overwhelming supply coupled with a decreasing demand (and decreased tuition revenues) may leave colleges and universities with no other choice but to look to international students to fill the tuition gap, if not the gap in the number of enrollees, as international students often help colleges and universities try to recoup the losses from tuition discount and financial aid offered to in-country enrollees.
The politics of the moment may be temporary, and divisive actions by the federal government could conceivably be overturned, which means colleges and universities should not dissuade themselves from working to attract international talent. However, it may be incumbent on these schools to include staff and resources that can counsel international student applicants on the legal and political challenges of studying in the U.S. These students may have fears, but those fears might be allayed with informed, easily accessible advice from a college’s outreach team.